


Above The World

by PaddlingDingo



Series: Conniel Week Prompts [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Fear of Heights, Fluff, I know it wouldn't be this easy but I had to let it happen, M/M, They earned some fluff, this all started with the conniel week day 1 prompt of trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-10 20:57:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15957398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaddlingDingo/pseuds/PaddlingDingo
Summary: August 15th, 2041. Three years after Connor and Daniel fell and died together, Connor decides he needs to conquer his fear of heights for the sake of Daniel’s love of flying.For Conniel Week Day 1: "Trust".





	Above The World

At this height on top of the hill, the world looked smaller. The lake looked distant, the trees like little toys. The wind slapped at his hair, at his jacket, and Connor huddled closer to Daniel. It felt like higher up than it should. He kept trying to analyze it and found that they were 1618 feet above the ground. It didn't reassure him.  

Daniel looked over at him and reached out to touch his LED. “Are you okay?” 

Connor imagined it spinning and flashing in rapid yellow, his fear response starting to show through despite Connor’s efforts to control it. “I don’t know.”  

Daniel’s hand interlaced with his, holding on. “You don’t have to do this, Connor.”

It had been three years to the day since they’d fallen and died together. Daniel hadn’t developed the fear of heights that Connor had. In fact, he’d thrived anywhere that he could be above the world. He’d come home from any day that had him in the sky, full of excitement and wanting to share. At times, even watching Daniel’s memories brought Connor’s fear back again, and he felt the panic, the drop in his gut. He remembered falling. He'd hoped that it would help him get past it, but it hadn't. 

He’d made the decision that he didn’t want to live with that fear. Daniel, and this part of him, were too important to him. They’d made the plan to do this today, the anniversary of the day they fell together and died together. He didn’t want this to beat him. 

Daniel leaned into him, kissing his cheek. “We could start with something smaller. It's okay.”

“No. This is what you love. I need to do this.” He turned to Daniel and kissed him on the lips, a deep kiss, his tongue sweeping across Daniel’s lips and parting them. He knew he was distracting himself, but the feeling of something pounding in his chest started to hurt. 

Daniel returned the kiss, gently using his lips to pull at Connor’s tongue. Connor reached up and wrapped his fingers around Daniel's neck, their skin turning to white where they touched. He could have kissed Daniel all day, but it wouldn't get him closer to getting over his fear. 

 _I love you so much,_ Daniel said, and Connor felt his stress drop slightly at hearing those words. 

 _I love you, too._ He pulled away and ran his hand over Daniel’s cheek. “And I trust you,” he murmured. 

“Good.” Daniel smiled and reached out to check Connor’s harness. His hands moved with the confidence who had done this many times, hands tightening straps where needed. It felt tight and restrictive to Connor, but he understood the necessity. “I won’t be able to hold your hand, but you can grab my arm any time you need. We can link, I can multitask. And if you get too stressed out, I’ll get us down fast. Sound okay?”

Connor nodded, unable to speak. Part of him wanted to take it back, to suggest something more simple, but he trusted Daniel with his life. 

Which was a good thing, since in a matter of minutes, he’d be putting his life in Daniel’s hands. 

Daniel smiled at him, a beautiful smile, Connor’s favorite smile in the world. A smile of joy, love, excitement, everything he loved about Daniel. He’d found new life since being brought back to life, and while the first year had been so hard on them both, they’d gotten through it. 

“I promise you’ll be safe with me.” Daniel kissed Connor on the cheek then jogged off to prepare. He called out to a couple of other people, waving. He looked at home on this hillside, with the colorful fabric on the ground and in the sky, the bustle of people.

Connor couldn’t watch the others, it seemed too hard to imagine that he’d be following them in a moment. Instead he kept his eyes on Daniel, who worked with another person to unfurl a blue, green, and yellow piece of fabric. It was called a wing, but it didn't look much like a wing yet. 

“You must be Connor,” a woman said, and he glanced down to see a dark haired woman. She barely reached his shoulder in height. 

“Daniel warned you about me?” he said with an uncertain smile. 

She snorted. “Hardly. He talks about you constantly.” Laughing, she held out her hand. “I’m Annie.”

“You’re Daniel’s instructor,” he said, remembering the name from their conversations. 

“He practically teaches himself, but I make sure he gets it right." She looked over at where Daniel worked to lay out a number of lines attached to the wing. "You've never seen him up there, have you?"

"No," Connor admitted. "I've seen a few pictures but I'm not good with heights. Yet."

"He's a natural, he learned this in a lot less time than humans do. Most androids can figure it out immediately, but what's tricky is perfecting it to the point that you can take another person up. This means a lot to him." She grinned. "He could have brought you out any day. He's a fast learner and I'd trust him to take anyone up. He's great up there."

Connor felt like he was getting a look at Daniel's life that he'd had very little insight into previously, meeting people he'd worked with for the last year. He'd wanted to come here, wanted to see it, but didn't know how to go with Daniel. The thought had been too hard, but today of all days, he wanted to do this. "We met three years ago today," Connor admitted. "I think we just wanted to find the right time."

"Are you nervous?"

"A little," he admitted, hoping he covered it well. Inside, the thought of being this high above the ground made him want to turn around and go back to the car. But he looked past Annie to Daniel, with a smile on his face, moving with so much purpose and enthusiasm. "But he's worth it."

"Damned right he is." She patted his arm. "I'll see you on the ground." She walked off, heading for another cluster of people, and Daniel came back to his side with a couple of helmets in his hand. 

He reached up and put one on Connor's head, fastening it in place. His hand brushed over Connor's jaw. "This seemed like the right size, does that feel tight enough?"

The helmet restricted his head and made him feel like he couldn't see in all directions, but it didn't move around when he moved his head. "It's fine."

"Great." Daniel put his own helmet on his head and buckled it. He put a hand on Connor's shoulder, his blue eyes searching the other's face. "Last chance. The option to just go to a movie is still there, if you're not ready."

Connor thought about it, but he searched Daniel's face, framed by the bright blue helmet. "I trust you," he repeated. "I'm nervous but I'm okay."

The smile he got in return made his worries fade a little, as Daniel reached out and took his hand to lead him to the point where all the lines met. The bulk of the harness became more obvious as they walked. Daniel reached down and secured a couple of more buckles around his thighs. "It's going to feel strange at first but remember that you're attached to me. You can't fall."

Connor wasn't so sure about that, but he nodded. That's what trust was. Believing that Daniel would keep him safe. "Got it."

Daniel reached down and picked up a large pack, strapping it to himself. His hands moved over the buckles easily, fastening them in place. He adjusted it on his back. He had a lot more strapped to him than Connor did. 

The other android grinned and held out his hand. "Give me your hand and I'll give you all the instructions you need. The non-spoiler version." 

Connor took it and let Daniel upload the instructions he'd need to help take off, what to do during the flight, and when they landed. He noticed that Daniel did not give him much about the actual flight, and wondered if that was because Daniel didn't want to freak him out, or if he wanted it to be a surprise. Perhaps both.

Daniel let go of his hand and stepped back to start attaching all of the lines to his own harness. Then, he grabbed onto Connor's harness, and Connor felt a tension building. This was it. He couldn't turn back now. Daniel pulled Connor to him and started buckling them together. Now Connor could only look forward at the lake below them, at the drop, at the trees. He closed his eyes for a moment. 

"Ok, we're ready to go." Daniel stood behind him, every slight movement making Connor move with him a little because of the harness. "Are you ready to run?"

"At least I'm good at running." Connor opened his eyes and looked ahead at the path they'd have to take. The path was marked out along the rock, making it easy. 

Daniel laughed and Connor thought he couldn't imagine a more beautiful thing at that moment. "Thank you. For trusting me enough to come up here."

It had been Daniel that had needed to learn to trust in the early days of their relationship. "It's only fair. You've trusted me with everything." 

"You've earned that, Connor." He leaned forward and kissed Connor's neck, and he felt a surge of warmth go through him. "Now run!"

Connor tried not to think, he just moved. They synchronized their strides easily, almost by instinct, and he could feel the resistance that was the wing pulling at Daniel's harness. Behind them, he could hear the firm fluttering of the wing catching the air, and he focused on each landing of his boots on the rock.

The hill started to curve downward, and Connor wondered when it would happen. Would he feel sick? Would he panic? Would they need to land because he couldn't do this?

He felt the pull from the back and suddenly his feet were lifted, no longer on the rock below. For a moment he felt disoriented and closed his eyes, feeling a drop as his harness settled. The wind caught his clothing, and he focused on that sound, on anything that wasn’t the stress warning that flashed behind his eyelids. He could feel Daniel moving in his own harness, placing his legs on each side of Connor. 

A cry of pure joy came from Daniel; Connor couldn't tell if it were a laugh or a yell. But he'd never heard a sound like that before, and he opened his eyes. The ground moved farther away as they moved away from the hillside and dread filled him. 

Daniel leaned forward and put his head next to Connor's. _Hey. I've got you._

Connor forced himself to relax and put his hands on each of Daniel's legs, just needing to know he was there. He blinked a few times, looking around. The lake stretched out in front of them, the sun glimmering off of it. The air rushed over him, making so much noise that it made it hard to hear, but he didn't need to hear. Not up here. 

He'd made it. He was paragliding with the person he loved more than anything, doing something that Daniel loved. 

 _How are you?_ Daniel asked, settling into his harness behind Connor. 

He turned a little to look up at Daniel's hands, wrapped confidently around the handles to control the glider. His heart beat so fast that Daniel had to have noticed. Daniel seemed completely relaxed, making small movements to correct their course. Connor felt them dip to the right towards where a number of other bright shapes circled the sky.

It was beautiful, it was terrifying, and Connor felt a shake starting somewhere in him. He didn't want to be afraid, but he didn't know how to be anything else up here. He reached up and  put it on Daniel's wrist, careful to not get close to the lines. 

The link opened up and in that moment, Connor could feel Daniel's exhilaration, his happiness, how he took in everything. How much he loved Connor, how proud he was that he'd come here to do this with him. How free he felt flying above it all. How much better it was with Connor there. 

He felt his thirium pump's rate lower, and his fingers brushed Daniel's arm as he let himself look out over it all. He'd never imagined anything like this. Birds flew by below them. The world slowed down, and Connor felt himself settling into the harness. 

 _There it is._ Daniel curled one leg over Connor's, the only touch he could manage with his hands controlling the glider. _How's that feel now?_

Connor could still feel the fear, but the link let him feel Daniel's wonder, his steadiness. _Is this what it was like when we fell?_

 _When you took away my fear?_ The glider swung to the left as Daniel moved it right. _It was a lot like this. I could have been scared, but I wasn't. I had you. And now you have me._

The thought came with such gratefulness, such warmth, and Connor twisted a little in his harness to look back at Daniel's face. 

Daniel smiled at him and leaned forward, kissing his cheek. _What do you think?_

How could he tell him? Then again, they were still linked, so Daniel already knew. _It's amazing, it's beautiful. Like you._

Laughing, Daniel pulled them the other direction, and Connor felt his legs swing with the movement. He couldn't bring himself to look directly down yet, but he could look across the landscape. The hill they'd jumped from already looked distant, and Connor determined they moved around 29mph. 

_Thank you. For trusting me. For being with me right now._

Daniel's contentment calmed Connor, and carefully he pulled his hand away to let Daniel steer without his hand in the way. He expected himself to be terrified, but now that he was up here, he couldn't stop looking around. It's like they were alone in the world.  

He could feel Daniel’s body moving precisely, each movement causing a specific reaction, and he started moving with Daniel, shifting with him. It helped him not think about their height of 1424 feet.  

 _Do you think you can take the handles for a moment?_ Daniel asked. _You don't have to do anything, just hold them with the same force._  

Did Daniel really trust him this much? Connor nodded. It didn't sound so hard. _Okay._ He looked up and tucked his hands in next to Daniel's. Daniel released the first handle, passing it to Connor, then the second one.  

He could feel the pull of it, and he evened out the grip on both hands, trying to focus on not pulling one way or the other. _How am I doing?_  

 _You're doing great._ From behind, Daniel's arms wrapped around him, pulling them almost against each other.  

Connor smiled then pulled them to the side, just a little.  

He heard Daniel laugh in his ear and he loved the sound of it. _I knew you'd be good at this._

He understood why Daniel loved it up here so much now, how free and far away from everything they felt. _I still don't think I can look down,_ he admitted.

 _You don't have to. Not yet, anyway._ He bent down and tucked his chin against Connor's neck. _I'm so happy you're here with me. I've wanted to show you this since the first time I flew._ He placed a kiss against Connor's neck. His lips were warm. "Being here with you is perfect."

Connor almost didn't hear him against the wind, but he smiled. _Being anywhere with you is perfect._

 _Flatterer._ Daniel reached his hands up to help guide Connor, and they soared through the sky together, grateful for the chance to be alive, together, and above the world.  

**Author's Note:**

> It's fluff. I wanted to do something for the trust prompt, but I wanted to hit it from a situation where Connor had to trust Daniel. 
> 
> I know that it’s not likely Connor would get over it that quickly, but on the flip side, androids aren’t human so maybe he just needed the right reason to not be afraid.


End file.
